In 1981 Ian Ruff (our esteemed president), designed a fly which he named the Raider. With numerous versions he trialled the fly extensively on the reservoirs of the Midlands and Wales, along with a number of smaller waters. Employing different colour variations according to the conditions, it proved to be very successful and fellow competition anglers soon noticed that Ian had something special on his hands, especially when he cleaned up in the 1985 & 1986 Benson & Hedges competitions. Hook - Kamasan B400, 12 – 14 Thread – Black Body – Swan or goose herl Rib – Thread Thorax – Seal’s fur, or substitute Wing – White swan or goose herl Post – (if used) Veniards booby eyes cylinder The abdomen i

Vicuna dubbing is very kindly offering a 10% discount to our members. Just quote GUILD10 on your orders. If you wish to contact them direct their e-mail is team@vicunadubbing.co.uk or through their website; www.vicunadubbing.co.uk. Our Secretary Phil tying on the Vicuna Dubbing stand at this years BFFI.

Another cracking Bob Wyatt pattern and dead simple to tie. If you haven’t read either of his books I thoroughly recommend them; Trout Hunting: The Pursuit of Happiness (great title). What Trout Want. I am a big fan of the Grey Duster (who isn’t!), both traditional and parachute style, so an emerger version seemed an obvious choice for my fly box. Hook – Partridge K4AY-SE or Kamasan B100, size 12 - 16 Thread – Shear 14/0 primrose Body – Grey hare Wing – Golden badger Tie in the golden badger and lay a bed of thread down to where you want the dubbing to start. Prepare a noodle of dubbing. Wrap the dubbing up the body, then wind down again with the thread to secure and finish at the point you w

The quintessential ‘trout ammo’, a term coined by Bob Wyatt for his selection of flies which features on the DVD ‘Flies That Catch Fish’. Not only quick to tie, but a cracking catcher of fish and a mainstay of many fly boxes. This is my version tied on a size 14. Hook – Partridge K4AY – SE sizes 12 – 16 Thread – Shear 14/0 in olive Body – Light olive hare Thorax – Dark olive hare Wing – Coastal Deer Hair. Deer hair is a bit of a minefield with many different types and each has its own properties. With this fly I find that I am only using a small bunch so I could use a wide variety. For that same reason, and to save time, I don’t bother stacking, just pull out any excessively long hairs. I li

I like 'system flies', where the design stays the same but materials are interchangeable according to the conditions, or your mood! This fly is a perfect example of that. A variation of a pattern from a ‘Fly Tying Academy’ DVD by ‘Fish On Productions’. As it is tied by John Tyzack, who was the English national rivers champion six times, I think that is a pretty fair recommendation. It can be tied with a variety of materials to suit you. Hook – Kamasan B401 size 12 – 18 Thread – Shear 14/0 in primrose, olive or tan Tail – Coq de Leon feathers Body – stripped quill, turkey biot or moose mane Wing – 2 CDC feathers, natural or colour to suit Thorax – a spiky dubbing such as squirrel or Argentine

As a guide to fishing a completely new water, I would always consult the wardens or bailiffs as to what the fish have been feeding on recently and productive areas. Hiring a boat is probably a good idea to start to learn a new water, all fishable areas are easily accessible, allowing mental notes of features, points, bays etc. Various depths, areas popular with bank anglers. An absolute essential piece of kit if available, is a small map of the reservoir, which will usually include the compass points . I have a small wallet in my fishing waistcoat, in which I keep my maps showing named banks, woods, bays and features , allowing me to either choose a specific reservoir or bank area, allowin

Another fly that is very effective and simple to tie, especially appropriate if you have read Ian's moving tribute to Bob who recently passed away. Original Recipe Hook – Kamasan B400 sizes 10, 12 or 14 Thread – Black Body – Green wool (originally from the jumper he was wearing, teased out) Rib – Gold round tinsel Hackle – Red game – trimmed flush Wing – White hackle tips A Claret variation Hook - Kamasan B401 size 14 Thread - Shear 14/0 claret Rib - Silver tinsel size 16 Abdomen & thorax – Claret seal’s fur Hackle – Chinese cock dyed claret Wing - White antron, as a sighter Varnish Lay down a bed of thread, I like to tie in the hackle at the beginning. Then when it is ready to wind on, ther

Back in the early 80’s at Grafham their were a group of good mates who fished regularly and shared time in the Wheatsheaf , West Perry, discussing the great sport we were all enjoying. Little did we realise it at the time but there was indeed something special going on between us . We couldn’t have realised back then that what we were sharing was to have had such a lasting impression on Reservoir fishing. John Moore started the ball rolling by introducing his Hopper dry fly as a way towards regularly taking big rainbows both at Grafham and Rutland. During the summer of ’81, I had the extreme good fortune to chance upon the idea of greasing up a generic herl and seal’sfur fly in various c